Thursday, March 31, 2005

Sacrament of the Infirm

To elaborate on Boney's earlier post--The Pope has receieved the Sacrament of the Infirm, also known as the Sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick, or Last Rites. Pope John Paul II has actually received this Sacrament one other time, on May 13, 1981, the day of his assasination attempt when he was shot in St. Peter's Square and was nearly killed. But of course the Pope made a full recovery and has reigned for nearly 24 years since that incident. The Sacrament involves annointing the ill person with special oils and is meant to provide comfort and is in no way a confirmation that the person's death is imminent.

Indeed, it is possible that the Pope will recover from his high fever, as he is currently being treated with antibiotics. The next 24 hours will be critical, as that is the amount of time it generally takes for antibiotics to enter the bloodstream and become effective.

9 comments:

The Holy Father all his life has sought to teach us how to live the way Our Lord wanted us to live. He now shows us by example how to accept and grace suffering and death. He truly is the succesor to Peter.

All of the catholics have not deserved to see the pope like this. The pope should not have to go through this pain & should not have to go through this pain. It is bad that he is going to go like this.He truly will be the holy father from 1978-2005.We will miss the holy that changed the world!

All of the catholics have not deserved to see the pope like this. The pope should not have to go through this pain & should not have to go through this pain. It is bad that he is going to go like this.He truly will be the holy father from 1978-2005.We will miss the holy that changed the world!

All of the catholics have not deserved to see the pope like this. The pope should not have to go through this pain & should not have to suffer. It is bad that he is going to go like this.He truly will be the holy father from 1978-2005.We will miss the holy father that changed the world!